Archive for April, 2011

This year’s Minnesota Book Awards gala featured even more good news for Minnesotans who love history: a brand-new award to be offered next year.

The Hognander Family Foundation is sponsoring the Hognander Minnesota History Award, which recognizes the author of the most outstanding scholarly work related to Minnesota history published during the preceding two years. It will be presented every other year beginning in 2012.

The Book Awards website quotes Joe Hognander’s rationale, which we’re delighted to present to you here: “We established this award because of our relationship with the Minnesota Historical Society. Its commitment to excellence is noteworthy in promoting scholarly research and writing within many of our state’s organizations. We hope this award will inspire more such activity by recognizing and rewarding the finest work in this field.”

The idea behind the collection came from Minnesota author Bill Holm before he died in 2009. In the introduction dedicated to Holm, Jim roots through the history of pig poetry since Homer, uncovering many tasty surprises. Join Jim and contributing poets Jim Heynen, Jill Breckenridge, and Katherine Grant for an evening of rhyme, swine, and wine. A wine toast will kick off the program, and a book signing reception (with chocolate-bacon cupcakes) will follow.

“What does it mean to be a Minnesota writer? It means obsessing over the sound of the Mississippi River. It means writing about small towns. It means you’re a refugee who refused to speak as a child.

“It means writing about butter. It means New York might find you provincial. It means you’re not as stressed out as New York writers about your status. It means you write about Chicago. It means you grew up on a farm and saw your dad kill a cow with a pitchfork. It means your characters have secrets.

A veritable who’s who of Minnesota’s best-known writers of books for children and young adults will testify to the special significance of libraries in their lives this Thursday, April 21, at 7:00 p.m at the Minneapolis Central Library’s Pohlad Hall to celebrate the publication of Libraries of Minnesota.

Last week’s Star Tribune Variety section featured a slide show and excerpt from the book. You can also see a preview of the book on the KARE11 website: Doug and Pete talked about the project on the air this past Saturday.

The image below is not from the book but is featured today on the popular website boingboing and originally comes from the L. A. Library via the Boing Boing Flickr pool from Bart King. Since it features a kid in a library with a copy of a book by another beloved Minnesota author and illustrator, Wanda Gag, we thought it worth sharing!

Our lunch bunch was made up of six staff members from different areas of the workplace, including a technology manager, two reference specialists, a curator, a publisher, and a programmer. We wanted a variety of takes on a range of sandwiches–and, of course, we wanted to get to know each other better. The collective knowledge in the group was astounding: as we visited different eateries and tasted different sandwiches, everyone contributed facts about the geography of the place, the history of the building, the immigration patterns of the people who lived in the area, the community celebrations of those neighborhood folk. We were, after all, a group filled with a love of history. And food.

Looks like our lunch bunch is in good company, too. Sandwiches–they’re everywhere these days! Food trucks in the Twin Cities are out and about for spring, offering tasty pulled pork on buns and buffalo chicken on toasted bread. The Chicago Tribune recently featured a slide show: “30 sandwiches in 30 Days.” And Saveur magazine’s new spring issue theme? Sandwiches, of course.

It was a really enjoyable “Sandwich Salon,” if you will, that we recommend you try in your own workplace (or with friends and family), guided by the stories and photos of the eleven featured sandwiches–and all their variations and cousins–in Minnesota Lunch, which also has a companion blog by the contributors. Ours was a terrific assignment and gave us something to look forward to a few times a week. We didn’t have to drive far and we certainly didn’t have to spend much money. Journalist James Lileks, who was quoted in the introduction to the book, said about his leaving an office job: “The only thing you really miss is lunch. Where you went, who you went with, what you said and did. . . .”

Next week we’ll feature the highlights of our sandwich tour, which began with banh mi at Trung Nam French Bakery in St. Paul and ended with the infamous Jucy Lucy at Matt’s Bar in Minneapolis. I smile every time I think about one of the first statements made by LK at our shared table: “Sandwiches. They are one of my favorite things. They’re perfect. If I were on a desert island and could have only one thing, I’d have a sandwich.”

“Two exceptional mystery bookstores will be honored with the 2011 Raven Award. Established in 1953, the award recognizes outstanding achievement in the mystery field outside the realm of creative writing. Once Upon a Crime in Minneapolis, MN, and Centuries & Sleuths in Chicago, IL, will receive recognition for their contribution to the mystery community.”

MPR has a great article about Pat Frovarp and Gary Shulze, who have co-owned Once Upon a Crime for the past ten years.

Next Tuesday, April 12, marks the sesquicentennial of the Civil War. Nationwide, historical societies and other historical and cultural preservation organizations are commemorating the Civil War from April 12, 2010, to April 9, 2015, with a variety of events, exhibits, and programs. The Minnesota Historical Society is no exception.

This Saturday, April 9, is Civil War Flag Day at the Minnesota State Capitol. In 2009, twenty-one historic Civil War and Spanish-American War flags were moved from the State Capitol to the History Center textile labs for a major conservation effort. Funded by a Save America’s Treasures grant in partnership with the Institute of Museums and Library Services and the National Park Service, the Tawani Foundation, and citizens from the State of Minnesota, these flags have been carefully cleaned, documented, and stitched to specially prepared mounts to allow visitors to see each one fully unfurled. The flags had been displayed at the capitol since its dedication in 1905.

The first four flags to go on display are the First Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the Third Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment, and the First Minnesota Light Artillery, all from the Civil War, and the Thirteenth Minnesota Volunteer Infantry Regiment from the Spanish-American War. Related Civil War artifacts from the Minnesota Historical Society’s collections also will be on display. The event will feature period music, a fife and drum procession with a color guard of Civil War and Spanish-American War reenactors, guest speakers, and free general and Civil War-themed tours of the capitol. Flag conservators also will be on hand to demonstrate the conservation process and answer visitor questions, and children’s activities will be offered throughout the afternoon. Additional flags conserved in the project will be placed on display on a rotating basis, with flags being changed every six to eight months.

The Minnesota Historical Society’s collections department has also started a Civil War Daybook blog featuring history as it happened day by day 150 years ago. Minnesotans on the home front and on the battlefield lived through a tumultuous four years. See what MHS staff found in the collections to tell these stories.

Stay tuned for more Civil War sesquicentennial events with MHS Press authors over the next four years.